10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 1/8
10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

If you are like me you probably have old lead acid batteries sitting somewhere probably
discharged
If you dont use lead acid battery always charge it before and recharge it every 3 monts
I ve tried this method on maintenance free lead acid, sealed lead acid and lead acid batteries ,
only difference is that maintenance free and SLA have hidden caps

Step 1: You Will Need

-Multimeter

-Adjustable PSU or Taper Charger (Smart chargers wont work)

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 2/8
10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

-Dead battery

-Distilled water (you can also use rain water)

-Rubber gloves

-Screwdriver

Optional

-Flashlight

-Super Glue

-Paper towel

-Syringe

Step 2: Measure Battery Voltage

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 3/8
10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

Connect multimeter to your battery and check voltage

Your battery shoudnt be lower than 11.8v (30%) in open circuit
If you read lower than that you will need to revive it if its higher than that try to just charge it
100% = 12.73 v
90% = 12.62 v
80% = 12.50 v
70% = 12.37 v
60% = 12.24 v
50% = 12.10 v
40% = 11.96 v
30% = 11.81v
20% = 11.66 v
10% = 11.51v

Step 3: Inspect the Cells

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 4/8
10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

Place paper towels on your working areas

Now if you have SLA or maintenance free battery you will need to remove lid with screwdriver
Put on gloves and remove caps
Do this in well ventilated area
Wipe any wet spots with a paper towel
Then look inside cells and you should see white fabric that is dry
If you see brown fabric with white lumps your battery is probably sulfated and your chance of
reviving battery is really bad

Step 4: Add Water

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 5/8
10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 6/8
Take a syringe and fill each cell with water and look if fabric is absorbing water
10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

Slowly shake battery and let it rest for 10 minutes

Step 5: Turn on Your PSU

Now you will need to connect your multimeter to show you how much battery is drawing
Set your multimeter to 10A and connect it in series with charger and battery
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 7/8
When you connect it to the battery an it should draw 100-200mA
10/12/2017 How to Revive Old Lead Acid Batteries: 6 Steps

Thats sign of dead battery

Set your psu to 14v or connect your charger and let it sit for day or two
After that your battery should draw 500-1000mA
Then just leave battery and calculate how long battery should charge
Ah capacity = Amps that your battery is drawing x hours
For my battery 8Ah = 0.39A x 20,5 h

Step 6: Testing Battery

Now leave your battery for 1h and hook it up on car hadlight or any 12v bulb
Voltage of battery shoudnt drop lower than 12v

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-revive-old-lead-acid-batteries/ 8/8